Has Milan Fashion Week lost its buzz?

The Italian dolce vita is a concept that has long resonated around the globe, but this season a lack of ambition on its catwalks have meant for a bland fashion week.

Of course there were the occasional triumphs, the new Gucci under creative director Alessandro Michele, Prada's princesses show, or even up and coming talent Arthur Arbesser's presentation.

Marni had an interesting look, proposing a new tough girl, complete with cross-chest holdalls in fur, or Emporio Armani's bohemian vamps. But With over 150 shows, presentations, events and appointments, there was rather little excitement emanating from Milan.

The New York Times suggested Expo 2015 was stealing the headlines. Fashion and food are embedded in Italian culture, but everywhere you turned in Milan it was giant billboards touting Expo's tagline, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.” The city, no doubt, is in preparation for the big event, but its preoccupation perhaps filtered down to its designers. Tellingly, an exhibition of works by the British photographer David Bailey drew the biggest crowd of the week.

As fashion week moves to Paris, the major trends to emerge from Milan were Gucci's fur-covered footwear and elsewhere lurex. Hardly the creative buzz expected to arise out of one of the world's fashion capitals.

Images: Arthur Arbesser, Marni AW15